Widzew Łódź was close to completing the transfer for Darko Czurlinow, but Pogoń Szczecin intervened and signed the player. The owner of Pogoń, Alex Haditaghi, provided details of the transfer on platform X. Robert Dobrzycki, the owner of Widzew Łódź, confirmed that a car collected Czurlinow from the Puro hotel in Łódź, for which Widzew had paid.

According to a statement on platform X by Pogoń Szczecin owner Alex Haditaghi, the club's interest in 26-year-old North Macedonian winger Darko Churlinov began about a year and a half ago after he scored a goal that prevented Pogoń from qualifying for European competitions. The statement also noted that an attempt to sign him last year was unsuccessful. On Saturday, upon learning that Churlinov was leaving Kocaelispor, Haditaghi contacted the player directly. Churlinov informed him that he was close to signing with another club. His agent later revealed this club was Widzew Łódź. Over the following five hours, the Pogoń team, including Tan Kesler, presented their sporting vision to convince the player. Churlinov ultimately chose Pogoń, despite their financial offer being lower. His decision was reportedly influenced by the football project, coach Óscar García's style of play, and his relationship with Ziemowit Deptuła. The entire transfer process, which included negotiations, medicals, and media preparations, was completed within 24 hours. After arriving in Szczecin with his family around 3:00 a.m., Churlinov officially joined the team. He signed a two-year contract with an option to extend for another 12 months. The portal Transfermarkt.de values the player at 1.5 million euros. The winger has 42 caps and 5 goals for North Macedonia. Jagiellonia Białystok had also recently been linked with him.